kathm

Hi,

Dave has a video conference interview lined up with a big company in Tauranga on Thursday evening. The company are footing the bill for us to hire a video conferencing room (about £200 - £250) - my feeling is that if they are willing to interview via VC AND foot the bill, they must be fairly keen on Dave as a prosepct - what are your views???

Also, until now, most of my research has been on Napier and Auckland. We liked the sound of Tauranga, but thought that Dave would struggle to find work there (he's an IT business analyst) - so opinions people please!!!

We have 3 children under 4 so want a safe, friendly community with good schools near nice sandy beaches. Is Tauranga a good place to bring up young children, and which areas of BoP would you suggest we look at buying a house in? This is all assuming he gets the job of course!!!

Thanks in advance. - I'm really excited that Dave has an interview!!!

Kathryn

bookemjano

I have absolutely no idea about the places you mention, but good luck to Dave on the interview!

Pinkie Pie

Fantastic news Kathryn and wish Dave good luck from us!!

Can't help you with areas of BOP other than to say that it looks absolutely gorgeous! There are some members on here who live in that area and may be able to help you further...

ledge

I spent a couple of days in Tauranga when I went to NZ at Easter, and thought it was quite a pleasant town/city. I believe it's growing very fast by NZ standards.
I'd be interested to hear how you get on jobwise - I'm an IT Systems Architect and expect to go to Auckland/Wellington or just an outside chance of Hamilton, but if the opportunity came I'd definately consider Tauranga.

Laurence

Radio Ham

I'm in IT too and Auckland felt to be the place to be.. but I'm going to Manchester to explore the BOP angle in October. I'll report back after that on my thinking it it helps.

... and a question in passing.. I've got 95 points without a job offer, having submitted one EOI a year ago claiming 125 which on selection and examination got reduced to 95.. wifes NVQ3 not recognised for points, other IT points job dependant.. Is there any merit in resubmitting an EOI now with 95 points while I sort the job offer out?

Colin

England Girl

Papamoa is a popular place to live, it's on the up and has a great beach (eastern side of Tauranga). There's also Ohope, which has a gorgeous beach, also on the eastern side.
If you want to go to the western side of Tauranga nice places (beachwise) are Bowentown and Athenree.
And right next door to Tauranga you have the Mount, or Mount Maunganui, which is a little peninsula with the port to the west and a sweeping surf beach to the east.
The Mount is pretty gorgeous but is now populated by holiday homes/apartments and gets taken over by the Boy Racers at Christmas/New Year (though last year wasn't as bad as previous years according to the papers and police).
It's also a bit pricey so it depends on how much capital you're bringing over.

It also depends on how far a commute you want.

You might find you're better off living in a Tauranga suburb and travelling to the beach instead of living right next to one (less risk of flooding too).

Check out stuff.co.nz for property or search for Bay of Plenty Times (it's a wilson and horton paper I think).

England Girl

PS good luck for the interview!

bookemjano

Colin, sorry to say that you won't get into the pool with 95 and so won't get selected. You have to meet the 100. If your IT skills are on the immediate shortages list it might be worth considering employing an agency to look for a job for you first if you're having trouble doing it yourself (and of course you'd have to be ready to go over very soon). We were going to employ an agency but just managed to get through on the 100 so were ok.

Radio Ham

Thanks Bookemjano.. I was in Auckland kicking the tyres and meeting the headhunters in August. A job once on the ground looks straightforward .. so current plan is to be there myself in March once house here is sold. My experience was that offshore recruitment was not normal, and understanding concepts like a 3 month notice period was alien to them ... reflection of the shortages I guess. So no merit in submitting an EOI of 95 now and then updating points later on job offer, best keep £130 in the bank?

Dave and Lyns

Hi Kathryn!
Glad to hear that Dave has got an interview and hope everything goes OK this evening I had a telephone interview (never had one before) the other week and it was really good. The person I spoke to was also able to tell me a bit more about NZ as well.

In terms of Tauranga, there was a BBC TV programme called 'A New Life in New Zealand' and followed a family that went to live out that way. We have the book of the series and thought it was a good read so you might get an idea of the area from there.
Let us know how Dave goes on. I'll send some good luck Karma if we can.

Dave (and Lyns)

bookemjano

We're going over on visitors visas and getting jobs, even though we've got the 100 points. We're doing it this way because we're not on any shortages list so we're really bottom of the barrel. As you're there 'on holiday' they don't ask you how you're going to support yourself, but luckily we're taking some money with us. Much easier to get a job whilst you're there, then wait a week or two for a work permit. You're then priority on the list for getting your blue sticker. In theory. It better work that way or I'm coming back with my belongings tied in a hanky on a stick over my shoulder!

jgombos

Do you have a masters or PhD? If not, you can get another five points if you acquire your masters.

(BTW, If you want an easy masters, and you have some interest in IT Security, I recommend the accredited online Network Security program at www.capitol-college.edu.)

Biddy

So Kathryn - how did it go!

I hope congrats are in order?

ex geordie

Hi Kathryn

We live in Tauranga and find it a nice safe clean place to live . Summer here is lovely the beaches at Papamoa and Mt Maunganui are great for families and there are some nice parks and walkways.The people are very laid back and friendly.
Good luck for the future
We are going back to uk next month for a few weeks to see family and friends as homesickness is kicking in so we are going to get it out of our systems !!!